The celebration of
this holiday begins the
night before on
New
Year's Eve, when
Americans gather to wish
each other a happy and
prosperous coming year.
At the stroke of
midnight on New Year's
Eve, people cheer and
sing "Auld Lang Syne."
The song, which means
"old long since" or
roughly "the good old
days," was written by
Robert Burns in 1788.

Making New Year's
resolutions – pledges to
change for the better in
the coming year – is a
common activity
associated with this
holiday. It is
traditional to make
toasts on
New Year's Eve as well.
Typically, the old year
is represented by
"Father Time," an
elderly man with a
flowing gray beard, and
the new year is
represented by an
infant.

One of the
largest
New Year's Eve celebrations in
the world is at Times
Square in New York City
where the New Year's Eve
Ball descends at the
stroke of midnight. The
"dropping of the ball"
is a custom derived from
harbor time signals, a
common visual
synchronization
procedure once used
primarily for navigation
and astronomy. Times Square has been
the center of worldwide
attention since 1904
when the owners of One
Times Square began
conducting rooftop
celebrations to usher in
the new year.

New Year's Day is the
oldest and most
universal holiday. The
Romans were the first to
observe January 1 as New
Year's Day in 153 B.C.
In 1582, Pope Gregory
XIII instituted the
Gregorian calendar still
in use today, setting
January 1 as New Year's
Day. Prior to this, many
countries celebrated the
new year on April 1st
in celebration with the
new spring season. It
was celebrated much the
same way as it is today
with parties and dancing
into the late hours of
the night. The origin of
April Fools' Day can
be traced to this
change.